Re-Connections & Things Eternal

They may say every year is life-changing, but 2009 was especially life-changing for me. I graduated college, moved out to Nashville to work for Meinl Cymbals, started dating my now husband – let’s just say it was a huge time for growth and learning!

And with that growth came Respira Collective. Although Respira really started in 2007, it would be two years later that things really started to grow, and we learned a ton. We made a light up acrylic kit , finished our demo snare which we brought to countless shows for people to try out, including Aaron Gillespie from Underoath and Matt Greiner from August Burns Red, and also came out with our engraved badges.

The first snare that got the Respira engraved badge was for our friend Luke Smith. Luke heard about Respira Collective through his friend Mike Schroeder. Luke’s idea for a 7×14 Maple Shell with Mahogany stain and 8 lug (instead of the traditional 10) turned out great. So great in fact, that I even made a few more snares like this to sell at music stores.

Of course it’s an honor to make a snare for your friend, but to make TWO snares is just awesome! And that’s what we recently got to do for Luke.

Luke wanted us to write The Great Commission verses on the outside of his shell. Although we put a wrap later on, he wanted the foundation of the drum to be those verses. He also had me write what was on my heart at the time on the inside of the shell, followed by some lyrics that were important to him.

Needless to say this was a very special project! Check out his 7.5×14 10 Ply Maple snare with Silver Glass Glitter, Brass Hardware and Gold Trick Strainer. Also fitting is that this snare is the first to display our wooden badge.